how old do my chicks have to be before i can move them outside......??

[nicoletm24]

How touchy are they with temp changes?? right now it's getting in the 70s at night, and can reach 100 (heat index of 105) during the day...they are only a few days old....so I know i need to wait awhile...

but how long til they can be in their own little pen outside?????

 

[NeeleysAVLChicks]

Most people say to decrease brooder temps (starting around 90-95) by 5 degrees each week. So if you don't want to put a heat lamp in the coop with them, wait until the nighttime lows match up approx. with the recommended temp for their age. Or, you can put them out in the coop with a securely attached heat lamp and only turn it on at night.

 

[Cattitude]

Our chicks have stayed outside from Day 1. We have a brooder hutch with a red heat lamp (all the time till they are about a week old, then only at night after that); they can move toward or away from it as they feel comfortable. It's also under shade trees, enclosed with siding at one end with the other end enclosed in poultry wire and 1/2 inch mesh, with a tin roof overhead. I haven't lost any to hypo- hyper- thermia in the hutch (so far).

 

[nicoletm24]

awesome help! thanks

 

[BeccaB00]

3 weeks old is when I moved mine.
If its getting about 100 in day time 3 weeks is perfectly fine!